Lunacy
by Ember.P.Slayer
Summary: Harry is joined in his 6th year by four not-quite-normal american girls who all hold a deadly secret, but whose side are they on exactly. With war on the horizon, loyalties are tested and sanity is questioned.  may contain slash
1. Chapter 1

Lunacy

Chapter One: Blood Moon

She popped another bubble out of the pink gum in her mouth absentmindedly a cheery grin seemingly permanently plastered to her face. Her eyes, gold and bright, had a more cold and calculating look, contradicting the childish, carefree image the rest of her spoke of. She was just that, a lie that was used to gain the trust of the target and destroy it. Smiles were scary after all, especially if they never changed to anything else. Smiles are for the happy yes, but also the deranged and inhuman. She twirled the string on her bunny-styled red hoodie around her finger, her hips swaying back and forth as she rocked herself from heel to tiptoe, in her thick, belted up, platform boots, in a typical childish show of absent minded boredom. Sometimes the velvety black mini skirt she wore would reveal the white lacey underwear she wore just beneath, but she seemed mostly oblivious, though she was well aware of its effect on her target. He eyed her hungrily every time he noticed the white scrap of cloth. She wore black lace stockings that ended mid-thigh, showing off her amazing, and not entirely "childlike" legs, despite her short stature. Her breasts were nearly popping out of her not entirely zipped up hoodie, yet another characteristic that was very unchildish about her. Again, a lie, though her physical features were all natural. She just happened to play up her youthful looking face, tying back her hair in matching low ponytails on either side of her face for an added effect. This made it so easy. She would tempt them close, using her looks and supposed demeanor to lure them ever closer, like a lovely flower, and then close shut on them, ripping them to pieces and destroying them entirely, like some carnivorous plant. Oh she liked that. She needed to remember to write that down later, after this little "talk" with their, she and her partner's target, was over with.

She aggressively chewed on harder on the gum, sliding out another stick of it from her pocket, a very candy-colored purple strip in silver wrapping, as she left one ear open to her partners probing question in the tight white walled room. Some of the things this monster said pissed her off, and made her want to bite him, chew him up into a bloody mess, then spit him out again. Then again, she hated the taste of blood, too metallic and warm. Though the smell was, to her, as sweet and lovely as the smell of fresh baked cookies was to every other person. Thoughtfully she was glad that her "Kitty", her partner, had the forethought to hand her a packet of the chewy goodness before entering this barren interrogation room, only just recently cleaned of blood that it still smelled faintly like bleach. Gum always gave her a pleasant way to divert her biting habit while still appearing to be cute and adorable, and most of all, harmless. That reminded her of something.

She glanced in the direction of her caramel-colored hair partner and the scum in front of her. She suppressed a sneer as she noticed him leering at her as she spoke to her Kitten about cutting a deal. She noticed her Kitten didn't even try to suppress her disgust of the monster, but complete the deal she did. Kitten turned to her one last time and raised a brow before gathering up her stuff to leave her alone her with the dirt bag. "You have five minutes." She grinned, in completely obliviously-to-the-implications way in the eyes of the man, but her Kitten knew that smile anywhere. "I'll only need a few seconds Kitten dearest." Her bloodlust was showing. Kitten nodded, not without an ominous shiver first, then left, locking the door behind her.

At the first sound of the final click the man immediately made his way over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist in an unmistakable show of possession, his disgusting breath wafting towards her nose as he practically cackled "sweet nothings" into her ears. He smelled of alcohol and rotted meat, though she also detected a faint trace of something metallic in his breath. In all likely hood, it was blood, blood of those innocent girls, barely any a day over the age of ten that her department pulled out of the river over the course of a month. Soon they would have their vengeance. It all came down to this, and strangely, she was very happy about that, one could almost say ecstatic. Perhaps, she thought, I really am as crazy and twisted as they say I am.

She smiled serenely; her hands immediately finding the hilt of her knives in her pocket. Wasting no time, she broke his hold, possible breaking his elbow in the process since he let out a yelp, that she quickly cut short with a swift cut to his throat. She then kicked his knees, causing him to collapse into a kneeling position. It was highly likely his kneecaps were now broken, too. Ah, an appropriate begging position, that is if he could have spoken. Laughing pleasantly under her breath she leaned down and whispered playfully into his ear before the last few seconds of life left him. "You wanted to play didn't you? Well this is how this little monster plays with all the other monsters." With one last gruesome blow she severed his head; his expression forever stuck in one of horrified surprise, and kicked his body over. Glancing around the room one last time she smiled. "Looks like this room needs to be cleaned again." She giggled and tapped on the heavy door for her partner to release her.

Alex tapped her keyboard annoyed, moving a few of the silvery blonde hair that often fell in front of her face at the least opportune times. The room, an office with three desks in it, was dark, cramped, but cozy with all the antique furniture and abundance of drapes and pillows. Most of the wood in the room, including the numerous bookshelves were stained a dark color, making the already dimly-lit room seem even smaller. In fact the brightest light was coming from her computer.

Frustrated she hit send on her computer, having not found much to add to her report of her last mission, and got up to go check her little tidbit of shelf space for a DVD that she could watch on her computer to relax. She kicked aside a few of her fellows' books that covered the selves, even spilling over to stacks on the ground, as she tried to make a pathway towards the opposite side of the room. She tripped. Alex cursed in German and kicked the stack of books to the side, hearing them hit the wall with a satisfying thud. She grinned, wolf-like, and made a note to chase down Rosalva for her mess. To think, Rosalva adored books like they were the most holy thing in the world and yet she still left them just where ever for others, in particular her team though their boss that one time as well, to trip over. Then again, Rosalva never tripped over her own books let alone her own mess. Perhaps that was the reason. Then again, it could be her way of deterring their absolutely annoying boss.

Talk about passive aggressive and you could put a picture right next to that word in the dictionary of their "beloved" boss. She snickered as she imagined the expression he probably was wearing about now, courtesy of her own partner, Laverna, a mischievous imp of a girl with a tough personality, and a no nonsense attitude. The four of them in the team all looked very different. Alex herself looked almost fay like, and was more often than not, mistaken as a very beautiful boy with silvery blonde hair and silver grey eyes that carried a faint trace of blue in them. Rosalva, despite being the oldest was by far the youngest looking, and shortest in the group and often played at being childish despite her role when it came to missions. Laverna, a younger girl, just barely younger than Rosalva, had a halo of light brown curls, long and to her shoulders, and a smirk of a smile always made people think she knew more than she was telling. She had a soft spot for most animals, particularly dogs and strays, but often had a harsher attitude towards humans. Not surprising in the least though, considering her past, considering all their pasts. The last, and most level head of the four girl team, was Rosalva's partner, her "Kitten" as Rosalva named her, Tuula. She was perhaps the youngest in the group but still the one that was nicknamed "Mother" by nearly everyone. Alex snickers as she remembers Tuula's many angry outbursts over the quite apt nickname.

Alex turned her head, her hand hovering just inches from the DVD shelf in preparation to choose one, when she hears a subtle beeping sound from her computer. After a few moments of surprise she makes her way back over and opens her messages to see what she was sent by the boss that was more important than her watching a movie. She grinned, a devilish grin with a light in her eyes that cleared the boredom clean out of herself, her heart on fire, quick and ready. Her team had a new mission and the wolf was ready for the hunt.

Tuula grumbled as Rosalva and she walked down the artificially lit and cramped hallways back to their office, still frustrated with Rosalva's lack of care towards the mess she made, yet again, in the interrogation room. It's not that she didn't believe the damned werewolf in there had not deserved his fate, it was just that Tuula was annoyed that she had to yet again call on the clean-up team to deal with the blood and body. It's not Rosalva they ever complained too, they were far too frightened of her, but instead her team's boss, the worst boss to face the world, and who always whined to Tuula, he too was far too scared of Rosalva, Alexandra, and Laverna. She wished that she exuded the same danger aura that her three other teammates did. Too many thought she was a "nice" and "sane" person despite every one of her teammates claiming the opposite. She was far more grounded than the others, far less likely to get caught, which made her seem more sane and "normal". That was simply the smarter route when you wanted to get things done, not the actual truth.

Suddenly she saw Alex, her real name being Alexandra, burst out of the gloom of their shared office; notice her and Rosalva, and come charging over excitedly to meet them. "We got a mission in Wizarding England!"


	2. Chapter 2

Lunacy

Chapter Two: Moon in the Pond

William Edgar Adams liked to think he was a sensible man, a man that, while he tended to walk a tad funny, often having an argument with his feet on the matter (though to be fair it did gain him the notice of his now longtime boyfriend), was a person that knew just what logic was needed to handle any situation. Then again, Will probably wasn't a sensible man, or at least had little opportunity to be, with a beloved cousin of his, currently on his door step, surrounded by her closest and dearest friends, all their bags stacked around them, ready to move in, and yet again disrupt his somewhat peaceful life.

Will sighed and stepped aside, not bothering to ask why they were here, again, where they were going, they wouldn't tell him, and how long they were staying, one time it lasted a whole year. Alexandra gave him a cheeky greeting, soon followed by each of her friends, and walked in, every one immediately going to the rooms in the house set aside specially for them. Shaking his head and heading into the kitchen to see what alcohol he still had in the cupboard, he called back over his shoulder to Alexandra, warning her yet again to stay away from his sword and gun collection, which she would undoubtedly disobey yet again.

Later that day, after his boyfriend Thomas had returned from work and Tuula had made dinner, spaghetti and meatballs, did any of the girls bother to tell him why they were here. In fact, he had been in the middle of putting a forkful of noodles into his mouth when Rosalva so kindly and casually brought up the paranoia currently running rampant in Wizarding England.

"It seems to me the wizarding world of England is in need of a few 'rat catchers' don't you think? After all I was just at this pleasant little ice cream store just the other day, and lo and behold, some pest in a mask and cloak decides to drop in and ruin my delicious sundae." Rosalva pouted in a deceivingly cute manner, much like a petulant child in many regards. Cautiously, already suspecting what the answer would be, Will decides to be polite and ask what she did with the "pest."

"I take it you decided to temporarily try your hand at rat-catching for such a grave offence?" It wasn't really a question to be honest, though its answer was known when Rosalva just smiled sweetly at him, which he decidedly ignored and was grateful when she didn't add any details. He very much loved Tuula's cooking and often Rosalva described her methods of dealing with vermin far too graphically for his tastes at the moment. Perhaps later Rosalva would be willing to share the story in depth, when he wasn't in the middle of eating of course. Death Eaters were quite a nuisance he would be glad to be rid of, even if, as a wizard, he lived on the barest outskirts of the Wizarding world of England.

"What do you need me to do then? I take it you were sent here to play pied piper." Thomas quietly stayed out of the conversation as he served both he and Will seconds, while Will figured out how to help the girls. Thomas long ago learned that he would rather not know about a lot of the things his "cousin-in-laws" were up to when they came for a visit. Tuula looked at Will, nodding while the other girls smiled, relatively pleased at how he took the information.

"You hit the nail on the head. We need you to be our cover and 'guardian' as we infiltrate Hogwarts. We are supposed to pose as foreign exchange students from the United States. The most I am allowed to inform you of our true objective is more along the lines of security and playing bodyguard. No doubt though, we will be pulled into the politics surrounding this war. In the case of that, Rosalva is going to infiltrate enemy lines." Will nodded but a thought struck him, curiosity, though if he asked he was not sure if he would get a response, let alone one he would like.

"And which is the enemy side for you lot, exactly?" The four girls stared at Will and Thomas soberly before returning to their meal, ignoring his question. Will decided he didn't want to know the answer anymore.

It was dark now, so while Alex distracted her cousin, they were playing a drinking game with Will and his friends who had shown up after dinner and, upon discovering the girls, immediately pulled them into drinking with them. Rosalva stepped outside and walked along the mostly empty street toward the beach. She kept her mind blank, walking forward in a purposeful but unhurried pace, all while keeping her senses completely open and aware for any troubling sign. She looked up at the sky, not bothering to watch her feet that already knew this path intimately. A while later, she gritted her teeth together at the sound of a twig snapping behind her, her hand fingering the needles in her sleeves, the beach only feet in front of her, the full moon reflecting over the oddly calm waters. She kept walking, slowing her pace only slightly, while she took a calming breath, shifting her weight to an easy battle stance. Her eyes took on a predatory focus, while her mouth eased into a smile that was eerily like a dog baring its fangs.

Once her bare feet hit sand, she had taken off her shoes at the house; she swung quickly around, and released a few needles to a spot a few meters behind her, a loud cursing issuing from the shadows in that direction as a distinctly male figure narrowly dodged the sharp little weapons. The two needles imbedded themselves into the tree trunk just to the right of the figure's head, a good three inches deep. Rosalva was fairly sure she would not be able to pull them out again. Rosalva narrowed her eyes, her lips forming a sneer as she noted exactly who had been following her.

"I won't miss with my next hit so I suggest you tell me what you want, Louis." He stepped out into the soft light of the moon, a condescending smile on his face, his dark eyes full of malicious mirth.

"Is that how you greet all your ex's?"

"No. You're special like that. I just really hate you." Rosalva growled, new needles in her hands already, serving as a warning. Louis casually brushed his long black bangs out of his face, his expression turning serious as he stared at Rosalva in silence for a few moments, collecting his thoughts and searching for the right words. Rosalva waited, well aware that he wouldn't bother to contact her without a good reason that deeply involved the both of them, but made sure to remain in her stance. Finally he spoke.

"Why are you here?"

"Playing Pied Piper."

"In a war?"

"You know how I like to play." He made a scoffing sound, turning his eyes away from Rosalva and to the reflection of the moon on the water.

"Don't die. I don't want to have to see Terra and Lily's sad expression."

"Obviously you still don't know me. I don't live for myself."

"Your right. But you would die for your friends."

"So would you."

They stood there, glaring at each other before Rosalva broke the tension with a bitter chuckle. Louis narrowed his eyes, suspicious of what she would do.

"You're still a bitter, egotistical brat who likes to say fuck the world but has a weak spot for his friends, mother, and helpless animals. Go back to protecting Terra and Lily. I'm not some naïve rabbit that needs someone to lean on despite what you have always thought of me. I was independent before I ever met you. I have never had any qualms about returning to that life. The only difference now is that I have you to hate for making me temporarily weak and compliant, act or not."

He looked her over, not sure if he recognized her as the young girl he had dated that summer of over a year ago. She still had the same face, same clothes, same coloring, and same height even, but the way she held herself was so different. He realized now that she had played at being sweet and innocent for his sake, not because she was truly that person. This is what she was; a monster in sheep's clothing, a weapon to be used, not coddled or displayed, never flinching at the sight of blood. She was the eagle that ate the venomous snake, not the helpless rabbit he had thought she was when he had fallen for her, before he gave her a reason to put him on her bad side. He made a thoughtful sound before he turned his back and walked back into the shadows, leaving Rosalva, alone on the beach with the resolve to never return. He had said what he had come to say. He wouldn't see her again after this unless their goals clashed again. Meanwhile, Rosalva turned her gaze back to the sight of the moon on the water, her expression reverting back to a doll-like blankness as a single warm salty tear joined the ocean, and then she too turned back to the path and faded into the shadows. The waves continued to crash against the shore, oblivious to any act upon it.

It took another four days after their arrival, days filled with cursing, card games, explosions, arguments over weapons and food fights, before their Hogwarts letters finally arrived by way of a beautiful barn owl. One which Rosalva immediately took to and tried to persuade to stay with her rather than have it return to its post. It seemed to be working actually, with Rosalva's promises and the owls seeming discontent with its total lack of single ownership; it was a school owl after all. At least that was what Rosalva had told everyone, and considering how the owl, now named Hel , was sitting contently on Rosalva's shoulder eating tidbits of bacon and sausage out of her hands, the team was more than happy to believe her.

Alex looked over the letters, and after a few hours of persuasion, Alex managed to wrangle Rosalva away from her new pet owl long enough to send their acceptance notice back, but not without promising that her owl would return right after delivering the letters. Now with their supply lists, and a new pet owl, they needed only to go to Diagon Alley to buy their supplies. Will handed them a tin can that looked to have contained tea at some point before being converted to floo powder storage then gathered his coat, umbrella, and boyfriend, to accompany the girls as their temporary "guardians" to Diagon Alley, and hopefully deter a few from entering Knockturn Alley, namely all four.

Will sighed; bringing his hand to his recently shaven chin before running it through his hair that was still in its unmanageable black waves. Nonprescription glasses in front of his bright blue eyes that were an almost haunting shade that bordered on supernatural surveyed the group while he shifted his weight in his nineteenth century gentleman's attire. Will's eyes found Thomas's form, the other man having gone muggle with an olive green sweater, worn jeans with his hands in his pockets, and heavy, steel toed working boots. His dirty blonde hair was cropped short and spiked naturally by the length, his chin also clean shaven. His eyes were such a dark blue that they were the same color as the calm of the sea at night. Will smirked before turning his attention away from his boyfriend and to his cousin and her insane friends.

Thomas stood by quietly as Will made a fuss over having everyone dressed properly for the weather, taking extra care to also make sure that Alex wasn't sneaking off with one of his swords again in her trench coat. He also made note that Rosalva was carrying a finished doll. Will would have to take her to St. Mungo's later today to make her delivery, it seemed.

Will had suspected as much when he noticed that within hours of her arrival she had left to go to St. Mungo's to visit the dying patients that had no hope of recovery. Will didn't really want to know much about what she did but unfortunately he did. She made what she dubbed "guardian dolls", magical dolls created for a family of someone recently died to protect them and look after their wellbeing. Technically this was illegal because of one key aspect. You had to steal a soul to give to the guardian doll. Rosalva in her case only made these for the few who requested it of her, and usually only under the willing permission of the dying patient. The fact that Rosalva was carrying the case of a newly finished doll meant that the person who had requested it of her had passed on very recently and that the relatives that would come to collect their loved one would be given this doll as well. Will sighed, before once again surveying the girls.

Today for the chilly weather, each of the girls was dressed accordingly in their own unique way. Tuula was dressed the most normal of the four. She had on a simple dark blue suede pea coat, a warmly woven white scarf with puff balls on the edges for decoration and a knit cap, also in white, with a woven dark blue rose attached. Her boots were thick, and practical, black leather. Underneath her coat she wore black jeans and a warm white sweater that matched her hat and scarf. An oval locket with a cameo on it, hung on a simple sterling silver, box chain around her neck.

Alex went with a more intimidating look with a long black leather trench coat, a black scarf and heavy military boots. The hat she had been wearing previously had already been confiscated as it gave her outfit too much of an offensive look that others would get the wrong ideas about. Underneath the coat she wore black skinny jeans, a Morrissey concert t-shirt, a studded leather belt with a sword attached to it, courtesy of Will's collection, and a little vial of what looked like mercury around her neck on a thick chain that she had placed a spell on to make it unbreakable. One shouldn't take chances after all. On her wrists are studded leather cuffs that matched her belt. She also wore thick black leather gloves on her piano perfect hands.

Laverna, like Tuula, wore a knit cap over her rioting brown curls, though in purple and with a lack of a flower adornment. She wore a simple purple ski coat with faux white fur trim, matching mittens, and a white fuzzy scarf with puff balls attached to each end. Like Alex she wore heavy military boots, perfect for kicking she thought, and dark jeans. Underneath the coat she wore several layers of long sleeved shirts, all in purple, with the top-most layered one decorated with the picture of a white three headed dog. Will would have to make sure she didn't take off her coat in the muggle part of London today since the shirt had been spelled to make the Cerberus move. Currently the white hound was curled up asleep on Laverna's belly.

Rosalva on the other hand stood out the most of the four. Today she had her hair bound up in a single thick braid that she let mold over her shoulder and down her front rather than let it hang behind her. She wore a red suede pea coat with a red caplet that had a hood attached. Adorning the hood were two long bunny ears, made of matching material, and the whole thing had a white faux fur trim. Underneath the coat, Rosalva wore a thick black velvet dress with a high mandarin collar that looked like she had pulled it off an antique doll, and was all trimmed out in white lace. The bottom of the dress was decorated in ruffled black satin, also trimmed in white lace. Black lace petticoats filled out the bottom of the dress into a bell shape that stopped at her knees. She wore warm stockings in thick black and grey stripes that had little lace bows sewn on the top and the ankles with little sterling silver bells as centerpieces. To complete the outfit she wore shiny black Mary Jane's with a low heel and good tread on the bottom, for running of course, with little metal red rose snaps instead of buckles. Like Tuula she wore a cameo locket. In her hand was a mahogany stained box with a carved rose design with gold inlay and a thick leather handle with a gold key chained to it. A matching lock decorated the box on one side and had a name that was obscured at the moment by the folds of Rosalva's dress. If one were to peek inside they would notice that the chosen doll was laid in an upright position, eyes closed, in plush black velvet casing that perfectly conformed to the doll's figure. The box itself was large eight inches by a foot with a thickness of about six inches. The box was typical for all of Rosalva's dolls.

"Everyone ready?" Called Will quickly answered by five affirmatives, one being a nod from Thomas. "Ok everyone, into the fire!" Within moments everyone left the now empty house in a swirl of green fire and four calls of "Diagon Alley" and two for "Knockturn Alley."

Will tried so hard to keep all the entirely mental girls together and out of Knockturn Alley but after counting, he soon discovered that the trouble duo, his cousin and Laverna, had escaped. Will sighed giving Thomas a look that needed no translation, and soon enough Thomas was briskly walking in the familiar direction of Knockturn Alley. Of course, while Will's back was turned to the remaining two, both Rosalva and Tuula escaped as well, leaving Will by himself in the middle of the Leaky Cauldron. Will paused, then decided that a nice warm soup and some beer was in order to get through this shopping trip.

Rosalva sprinted through the nearly deserted street that made up Diagon Alley towards Florean Fortescue, the ice cream parlor the team had stopped at when they had first arrived in England. Their ice cream had been kindly paid for by the nice Auror named Kingsley that had escorted them through the ministry for the hellish but necessary paperwork to get their transfers to Hogwarts. Behind Rosalva, Tuula attempted to keep up, cursing mildly under her breath as she elbowed anything and anyone out of her way as she tried to keep Rosalva's bright red bunny ears within her line of sight. Around her she noticed posters over the display windows, ministry ones by the looks of it, as well as quite a few wanted posters. Soon enough Tuula caught up with Rosalva who had stopped dead in front of a shop that was clearly boarded up; a shop that Tuula soon realized used to be the ice cream parlor that Rosalva had earlier complained about, stating that Death Eaters had been there. Tuula glanced at Rosalva's face, nervous a little to the other girl's reaction. Rosalva was clearly pouting, and mumbled something softly under her breath that only Tuula was close enough, and with her heightened senses could hear. " Should have skinned and boiled that rat when I had the chance. Florean was such a nice man."

Tuula chuckled and dragged Rosalva towards Madame Malkin's for their school robes, just as a blonde woman and a white blonde teen boy walked out in a huff. Tuula had to take a second glance to be sure that the boy wasn't Alex. Rosalva shared a glance with Tuula as they both grinned mischievously. Apparently they had found their first target sooner than they thought. Rosalva quickly skipped off to catch up with the blonde mother and child as Tuula walked into the store, paper in hand of the whole team's measurements and a note from Will to pick up a parcel.

"Soda is a magical drink! Shut up!" Alex pouted at Borgin. Borgin looked at her confused for a few moments then posed a question to her.

"Do you mean fizzy drinks?" Alex nodded and Borgin shook his head and muttered "Yanks" under his breath. Behind Alex, Laverna surveyed a hand of glory, chuckling vaguely at the irony if she decided to buy it, before turning to look at a skull that had what looked like a bullet wound through the forehead at close range. Alex continued to try to explain the wonders of the magical drink she called soda to a very inattentive Borgin, Laverna remaining unattended to explore the shop.

A few moments later a very pissed off Borgin tossed both girls out of his shop and onto the empty road, a still smoldering shelf could be seen from the window. Alex yelled German obscenities at the door; a few seconds later that's how Thomas found him, Laverna looking way too gleeful for being just thrown out of a shop and Alex looking offended, as if someone had just stolen her soda. Thomas glanced at Laverna suspiciously but decided that it might be best to leave Will to take care of what she might be up to and instead concentrated on Alex who was still in the midst of her German rant, something about having a giant's bits for eyes and a troll's sense of taste buds. Thomas smiled proudly before putting a hand on Alex's shoulder and gently steering her back in the direction of Diagon Alley and back to Will. The other two girls had probably abandoned his boyfriend soon after he had left, leaving Will in the middle of the wizard pub to get into who knows how much trouble.

* * *

><p>Mwahahahaha ^^ I got the second chapter done. aaaahhh i love writing this one...and i think a few of you might be glad to know that i got this one beta'd this time. (thanks Wildspeaks) anyhow i'm already off to write the third chapter. don't know how long it will be but i do hope you enjoy how long i made this one :D peace out -victory sign- and please be sure to leave a review. ^^ it really helps not only motivate me but also helps me write better and better<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Lunacy

Chapter Three: Princess Kaguya meets the Death Prince.

"Hey Mr. Malfoy, wait up!" Draco turned toward the feminine voice, startled to hear a very unfamiliar accent calling to him. Upon pausing long enough to look behind him his eyes widened at the odd sight of the girl's attire. She was a definitely foreign, but other than the clue of the accent he probably would never have been able to place where she was from. She wore a mixture of bright red, lacy white, and velvet black, an expensive outfit to be sure, though it could also be considered fairly muggle. Her hair was dark, nearly black, and pulled into a single braid that hung down her left shoulder; the braid bouncing as she ran. Her skin was lightly tanned, and as she drew closer he noticed that she had an unusual hue of iris; gold being uncommon for a potential muggle. Over all, her appearance and demeanor gave him the impression of a friendly rabbit or excitable puppy. Still, the bunny ears on her hood were odd. Perhaps it was just her American heritage, for that is the accent that she had, or maybe she was a, he sneered, mudblood.

Very pleased with herself, the young brunette girl caught up with both him and his mother and offered him a hand in greeting.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Malfoy." She quickly took note of his mother and offered her a curtsy when she made no motion to shake her hand.

"I'm Rosalva Espinosa. I'm from the United States." She smiled at them, completely undeterred by the coldness that he was exuding.

"I'm a transfer student and I'll be starting Hogwarts this fall as a sixth year student. I was hoping you might be my guide this year as I learn the ropes." Draco suppressed a growl and decided to merely respond harshly enough to rid himself of this pest.

"And exactly what reasons have I to do that, mudblood? Go find one of the Hufflepuff goody goodies to help you out." She stared at him blankly for a few moments then, to his err, she had the audacity to laugh at him.

"My my, I had heard a great deal about you, young Mr. Malfoy, but nothing about your excellent humor." Her smile morphed into something slightly more devious, a hint of mischief in its demeanor, and it sent a small chill down his spine. Warning bells went off in his head, but he chose not to display his suspicion.

"You really need to do your research. I'm actually of a pureblood family, well, as pureblood as they get in the U.S. What's more, why would I ask a Hufflepuff for help when I will most likely end up in Slytherin like you?" She continued to smile, her eyes still lit with suppressed laughter, as she awaited his response.

"Perhaps it might be best that we start over again?" She extended her hand in greeting, smiling as she repeated her earlier introduction.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Malfoy. I'm Rosalva Espinosa. I'm from the United States. I would be honored if you would assist me this year in learning the ropes around both Slytherin and Hogwarts." He stared at her hand that she left patiently extended as he wrestled with himself internally. Beside him his mother watched them both curiously, waiting to see the outcome before jumping in to the strange situation. Finally, after deciding that it couldn't hurt to get to know a foreign pureblood, he took her hand and shook it. She grinned eagerly at him and began to chatter to him about how she was wondering about all of the differences in the world of Wizarding America and Wizarding England society. He took that as his cue to start explaining what he knew from birth, all the rules and regulations for being pureblood, as she seemed to look at him in fascination. Perhaps this year would be interesting with this new addition to his entourage. It would certainly be entertaining to see what the other students of Slytherin made of this girl.

Will huffed as he took a sip of tea. His Earl Grey had gotten cold while he was taking out the cloaked and masked trash that had decided to bother him. These deatheaters were becoming quite the nuisance. He sighed a bit as he handed his cup back to a still white faced and wide-eyed Tom to heat up again, but when he turned to look at the entrance to Diagon Alley; he immediately perked up at the sight of Thomas's returning form.

"They got thrown out of a store. I'm pretty sure Laverna stole something, again." Thomas pointed to the curly haired girl who grinned unabashed and shrugged as she ruffled through her coat, before pulling out a skull that had caught her eye. It had a bullet wound through the forehead. Will raised a brow and took it from her, looking at it thoughtfully.

"And you took this why?"

"I was reminded of Thomas's constant lecturing us that not even wizards are invulnerable to bullets." She grinned, far too pleased with herself, as Will chuckled at the memory of Thomas's training sessions.

"Except for me." Said Alex with a wink, "But I'm a rare exception of course." The three of them moved to sit down next to Will at the bar, each placing their order for food and beverages before turning to the topic of the rest of the group.

"So where are Annabelle Lee and Dollmaster?" Will shrugged and sipped his now hot tea.

"They wandered off while my back was turned. Probably at Madame Malkin's though, since I gave Tuula a note for the proprietress for a package and a paper with all of your measurements for school robes."

"We passed by Madame Malkin's on the way here. I didn't see anyone inside." Spoke up Laverna. Will shrugged again.

"Well why don't you contact them yourself? Wouldn't it be faster that way in the first place?"

"Aw but that's no fun. It's too easy like that." Thomas rolled his eyes at the antics of the three and pitched in his own opinion.

"Do it anyway. Don't you need to know whether any of them have made contact with at least one of your targets already?" Laverna and Alex nodded. As usual, Thomas had a point, so they closed their eyes, slowed their breathing to the point it was nearly undetectable, and concentrated on the strange, wisp-like bond that tied the four together. To the normal person this bond was imperceptible but the four of them could see it, like a faint wisp of grey smoke from a candle in the day time, nearly invisible but still able to be seen like a specter against the sunlight. If they concentrated they could use this bond to "speak" with their thoughts. It was an unintended "gift" from there earlier days.

Laverna was the first one that was able to grasp at one of the bond strands, quickly identifying it as Tuula's while it took Alex a few moments more to locate and grasp her bond to Rosalva. Laverna focused on the important questions first, since the bond was more unstable now than it was in their other forms.

"_Hey Anna where are you?"_

"_In Flourish and Blotts. Why? Need something already?"_

"_No. Thomas brought us back and we were wondering where you and Doll were."_

"_Rosalva isn't with me. We made contact with the Death Prince earlier and she is deepening our connections in that direction."_

"_Ah was about to ask about that next. Death Prince though? Doll made the code name didn't she?"_

Laverna could feel through the bond a chuckled _"yes"_ as she started to lose her grip on the bond. She hung on long enough to inform Tuula of her losing her hold before she finally let go willingly, a wave of brief exhaustion washing over her before she managed to shake it off. She turned to Alex and shared a look with her. Apparently Alex and Rosalva's bond had broken down about the same time her and Tuula's had. Alex briefly confirmed what Tuula had told her, relaying this to Thomas and Will while they were at it. After placing some money on the counter, Thomas and Will led the girls out, heading towards the bookstore to meet up with Tuula while Rosalva made progress. Perhaps today would be their lucky day and they would manage to snag both their targets before nightfall.

Harry, Hermione and Ron all followed as closely as they could to Malfoy, watching as he left his mother at the bookstore to buy his textbooks before he and a strange foreign girl turned to the direction of Knockturn Alley. Malfoy had informed the girl he had business to attend to in there, and the girl had insisted on going with him, surprisingly one-upping Malfoy in the argument that followed. She had won by stating that because she had a companion of hers that very closely resembled Malfoy, and in all likely hood, that particular friend had been kicked out of any store he was about to do business with, she should join him so that she could explain the situation, should it arise. Surprisingly Malfoy was allowing her attitude towards him, and allowed her the right to follow him. At some point the trio had to run to keep up with the two, it being easy enough for them to spot them because of the girl's strange clothing, but they wanted to be close enough to hear.

Soon enough they reached a familiar sight to Harry, Borgin and Burkes, and watched as the two entered, the girl humming while Malfoy looked suspiciously around him before they finally entered the front door. Harry growled, frustrated when he realized that they could not enter without being detected, until Ron grinned and prodded him with a colorful box. Ron, being a genius, had managed to bring some extendable ears from his brothers' shop.

"I hope they haven't made it so that we can't use these." Worried Hermione as Ron passed around one for each of them. Harry glanced over through the window at Malfoy and the girl, who was currently talking to Borgin, to make sure they were still there. Once assured of their targets still being in the store, everyone pulled out the flesh colored extendable ears, but before they could make use of them, they heard a loud bag behind them, and turned around to see three children, ranging in age from fourteen to eleven. All three of them were arguing loudly with each other, in American accents, as a few adults made their way towards them to see what the fuss is about. Harry turned around at the sound of a chime, and noticed that the strange girl that had been with Malfoy was in the doorway, Malfoy peeking nervously over her shoulder out of curiosity. The girl's eyes flashed briefly with annoyance before settling in a calm yet cold look as she strode over to three American children, two boys and a girl. When she stopped in front of them they froze and turned to her unmoved expression, slightly abashed and chuckling nervously.

"Hello there Sissy." Spoke up the girl. "We wanted to come see you. You were so far away and going away to Hogwarts. We wanted to join you. Daddy said it was ok." At the mention of "Daddy," the girl Harry could only refer to in his mind as "Sissy," sighed with a resigned look before whacking the oldest boy, who greatly resembled her, and her younger sister before turning to the last boy, the eleven year old who had remained quiet the whole time so as not to draw her attention.

"Don't think I'm not informing Kitty of your arrival here too." The boy pouted and shot back childishly a response.

"Just because you and my sis are girlfriends don't think you're the boss of me." Sissy raised a brow and smirked at him before shooting back an equally lightly sharp response.

"That doesn't mean you have never followed my orders. Now," she pushed all three of the hooligan children toward the entrance to Diagon Alley.

"Off you go. Kitty is in Flourish and Blotts. Go join them there. Maybe you can persuade them to get you something good before we head back to Will's place." With the reminder that they might be able to get a treat, the three waved and raced each other to the bookstore. Harry blinked startled at the exchange but watched as he saw Malfoy turn to the girl.

"Sissy?"

"That was my little sister and brother, Anastasia Espinosa and Calisto Espinosa. The youngest boy was Egon Falkenrath, my girlfriend's younger brother."

"You have a girlfriend?" Malfoy looked at her startled as she softened her eyes, obviously thinking about the girl.

"Yes. We have known each other for a long time now. It's actually only recent that we added this relationship onto our rather close friendship." Responded the girl as she started moving in the same direction as her siblings. She turned to look behind her at Malfoy, who seemed frozen in place, lost in thought.

"Are you going to join me?" She tilted her head at the question and smiled in such a way that it was disarming immediately, almost sad. "The wizarding world after all is a dangerous place for a girl to roam alone I hear."

That seemed to snap Malfoy out of whatever he was thinking and he held out his arm for her politely.

"Where to, Miss Espinosa?" The girl smiled kindly and lightly laughed at Malfoy's antics, revealing a playful side of Malfoy that Harry had never seen before and confused him greatly.

"Just Rosalva, please. I think it might be best for you to show me around Diagon Alley. I'm not terribly familiar with the place just yet, after all." The two proceeded to walk away leisurely, Harry and crew left gaping behind them. Ron elbowed Harry lightly, snapping him out of his shock, and the three went back to the twins' shop. Someone surely had noticed their absence by now.

Draco spent the last week of break chewing on his bottom lip, a habit he had thought he had broken, and worried about a variety of things. He still had to complete his mission but the more he thought about it, the more he worried about how he was supposed to complete it. When he wasn't worrying about that though, he found himself thinking about the American girl Rosalva and her strange quirks. He had met with her friends at the bookstore that he had escorted her to, one of which he was sure had to be a relative of his, the resemblance was so uncanny. Of course the best part had been meeting Sir Adams, a Knight of the Realm. Draco even had a chocolate frog card of him, which was one of a few items he secretly treasured. Of course, he hadn't been aware that Sir Adams was gay let alone had a boyfriend. He was an imposing German man had been interesting to meet though at first he had been intimidated by the quiet but rather good looking man who he had simply been introduced to him as Thomas. Draco had also had the privilege to meet Rosalva's girlfriend, a very down to earth girl named Tuula, which he looked forward to getting to know more once school started. The other girl of the group scared him though. Her smiles made him wary and her demeanor seemed brash and loud, and rather aggressive. All in all, he was sure she would end up in Gryffindor if it wasn't for all the looks she had given him. He honestly would only want to know what she was thinking so he could slip out of anything she involved him into. Speaking of looks, Rosalva had been rather quiet for the most part, almost seeming to have a silent conversation with her friends from all the glances they shared. It made his inner Slytherin rather curious, something that had also drawn him towards Rosalva in the first place, and he had every intention on finding out why these girls fascinated him so much. Of course the first thing for him to do was to check the family tree. That one girl, Alexandra he thought her name was, looked far too much like a family member for him to be sure she wasn't.

* * *

><p>hehe sorry that took so long...actually i wasn't really finished with this chapter but decided this is a good place to end it and move on to the next chapter. till next time ^^ thank you for reading.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Lunacy

Chapter Four: The Moon's Robe that Never Fit

The day before they were to catch the train was a hectic time for the girls, filled with writing reports, dealing with idiot officials' letters of how to do their job, and the occasional mishap of Will who either had too much caffeine, too little caffeine, was on a sugar high, was sleep walking again, or had too much to drink. It was the last one at the moment that prompted his decision that climbing the tree alongside the house was a good idea. Thomas had already sighed and walked off to get the ladder while the girls below laughed at the fact that one, Will was stuck in a tree, and two, Will was in his cat Animagus form. Will meanwhile was hissing at them from above, his semi-long, tawny and gold fur standing on end, while his blue eyes glared at them, his right eye with a strange circle of darker fur around it like a monocle. The site was comical though Will did not see why it was funny. He just wanted to get down. Thomas could have gotten a broom to get him down but, well, Thomas didn't particularly like brooms anymore for a reason that every time the girls brought it up, Thomas glared at Will and Will tried to hold back his laughter. Neither ever tried to explain.

As Thomas returned with the ladder, Rosalva snuck away to meet with the Death Prince, her doll making kit with her since he had asked about it in one of the letters they had taken to exchanging after they met. Today she had her hair laid out long and straightened, with a glossy, raven-feather sheen to it. Covering her head was a green bonnet edged in white lace, with white ribbon ties that she elegantly tied about her head to keep it on. It was rather windy today after all. She wore a choker of dark green velvet, also edged in white lace with a gold serpent brooch attached to the center of it like a pendent. Today's dress took a slight inspiration from the Victorian era and had a dark green tail coat-jacket edged in white lace and embroidered with gold thread in whimsical filigree designs. The skirt poofed out the front, bright white, with lace at the end of it, slightly flowing in the wind of the day. Her stockings were white while her mary-janes were a matching dark green with gold buckles. In her hands was her case, an ordinary wooden box with a worn black leather handle. It was made of a reddish wood with a glossy coat; its corners covered with rose themed covers that looked perfect with the seven locks underneath the handle, with matching hinges on the opposite side. A rose design was carved into the front center of the box and was inlaid with gold as well. If one was to open it they would find it held much more room on the inside than the outside showed. In fact, each lock opened to a different compartment that housed a variety of items. Surprisingly this was her travel set and not her full set which lie in a matching trunk in Will's house.

Rosalva glanced around, left a note on the fridge, and picked up an elegant button sent to her by Draco's last owl. She glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon and the timed portkey would soon activate. She looked around her to make sure she had with her everything she planned to take with her one last time then counted down the seconds until noon. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. She felt her middle being yanked as she thought zero, her body hurtling through space while she grinned mischievously.

As she arrived into an elegant parlor, landing on her feet unruffled by the usually disorienting journey while a large fire place blazed behind her, she glanced around. A subtle tapping of shoes alerted her to the arrival of her host and she smiled pleasantly as Draco walked into the room. He was rather snappily dressed today, much like a gentleman of the Victorian era would and in matching dark green colors, though his accent choice was black and silver rather than her gold and white. He had a neutral frown on his face as he gave her his arm to take as he guided her to another room in the house. She glanced around at the portraits, nosily watching, even following the pair of them through their frames, taking note of which ones she might need to recall later as an interesting topic to ask Draco. Draco stopped briefly at a dark-wood elegantly carved door just long enough to open it then escorted her in, in a most gentleman like fashion. Rosalva smiled and nodded in greeting to each of the other occupants of the room, a girl with a pug like nose and dark hair, two burly, and unintelligent looking boys stuffing themselves on the snacks that someone had the forethought of bringing, and a dark skinned, dark haired boy that was lounging carelessly over the dark green chaise. As Rosalva waited for Draco to introduce her to the others in the room she noted yet another occupant that she had overlooked, a small boy with mousy brown hair and a sullen expression, reading a book with seeming total interest, though Rosalva was quite sure he was listening as his eyes were not moving back and forth like someone truly reading would. Also his book was upside-down. She smiled pleasantly at him noting he frowned more as he took note of her expression. Draco guided her to a seat, comfortably by the fire and to the right of the seat that he claimed for himself, a small side table between them laden with tea cups and petite fours that looked delicious and almost like pieces of art in and of themselves. Draco watched as she served herself a cup of tea, a black tea that had rose with mint and hint of blackberries by the smell of it, then cleared his throat to gain the attention of the other guests.

"Everyone, this is Rosalva Espinosa, a pureblood from the United States of America. She is going to be a new student of Hogwarts and will most likely end up in Slytherin with us. She has asked me to show her the ropes as she puts it when it comes to living in our world. I have accepted her proposal." Rosalva smiled over her tea cup at all of them before taking a calculated sip, watching their reactions. The pug-faced girl, whom she quickly codenamed Pom Pom, narrowed her eyes at Rosalva suspiciously, most likely thinking her a rival for Draco's affection though Rosalva silently giggled at the absurdity. The dark skinned boy merely raised an eyebrow in interest and gave her a flirtatious smile that she returned coldly. She codenamed him Dark Romeo. The two other boys devouring the snacks merely gave her a nod then returned to their gorging. She fittingly nicknamed them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. The small boy in the corner actually took the time to look up from his book and meet her gaze with a neutral expression that made Rosalva's hair stand on end though she chose not to show it. She took her time codenaming him, finally deciding to dub him Yuki, a Japanese word for snow that she found fitting for the small boy. Draco glanced at her before introducing each of the guests to him, his circle of friends she noted.

"Rosalva let me introduce you to Pansy Parkinson, my girlfriend." Draco said as he introduced Pom Pom to her. Rosalva nodded.

"And this is Blaise Zabini. I suggest you steer away from his romantic advances. He is known for his conquests." Dark Romeo pouted at Draco who grinned back, Rosalva giggling lightly at their subtle antics. Draco eventually turned to the two boys still eating.

"These two are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They tend to act as my bodyguards in the school. You should be safe as long as you remain with them." The two turned to really look at her now, possibly to memorize their new protected, though she would more than likely not need them. She was quite capable of protecting herself. Finally Draco turned to the last person in the room.

"Rosalva this is Theodore Nott. He prefers to be called Theo by use though." Rosalva nodded and turned to him.

"Am I allowed to call you Theo as well?" she asked him politely which made him start with surprise at her question. Suspicious, he nodded then quickly returned to his book though Rosalva was not fooled into thinking he was reading. Draco then sat back to allow his friends to interact. He was obviously waiting to see how she faired against these people. She grinned at the challenge and winked at him before turning to Pansy.

"I have a girlfriend you know? No need to continue to glare at me. I am no threat." Pom Pom started at that and blushed at obviously being caught though she immediate changed her attitude to uppity to cover her mistake.

"A pureblood girl with another girl? What absurdity." She sniffed at Rosalva. Rosalva quickly quelled her brief flash of anger at the girl before deciding to continue.

"It does not matter that I am bi and have a girlfriend. Unlike you lot, my magic has been altered and therefore makes it unlikely that I would have children with healthy magic. My sister and brother will likely continue the family without these complications." Pansy looked surprised and everyone turned to her curious, except for Draco whom she had already explained this fact to.

"And why is that exactly." Prompted Blaise, finally sitting up and leaning forward in anticipation. Rosalva took a sip of tea before continuing. The tea was far too good to waste after all and she was a fanatic of tea even if she disliked most black teas. She mused over where she should start in her explanation though finally nodding to herself and turned to her storytelling voice.

"Well it all started when I was very young, my earliest memories in fact. I was with my late aunt of my father's side, visiting with her. She had given me this beautiful new doll that she had made, which remains my favorite and whom I have named Joan. I was alone with my Aunt when it happened." Rosalva paused and sipped her tea as she inwardly glared at the memory.

"These wizards cloaked darkly and covered completely so they could not be recognized broke in then to kidnap me, for what purpose I was not sure at the time. My aunt attempted to protect me and was killed for that reason. Someone, I, to this day, am not sure who, threw a curse at her that made these deep gashes in her that made her blood go everywhere. Because of her clinging so desperately to me, I was covered in it. She screamed quite painfully then." Rosalva paused again and shook her head to snap herself from falling too deep into the memory before sipping her tea and continuing.

"I was in shock, and after desperately fighting them one had seen fit to knock me out. When I woke I was in their headquarters. I found out later, after I was rescued along with many other children, and returned to my family, that the group were radicals that were attempting to find ways to make it so that a witch or wizard did not have to use a wand as their medium but instead other, more mundane items that would make it easier to hide one's magical nature. From previous attempts, most of which killed the victims, they found this was only possible with young impressionable children and also ones with naturally powerful magic. This was the reason for my kidnapping. I perfectly fit many of their requirements. I endured a great deal of torture for their ideals, and later found, that my magic had indeed been altered to accept a different medium though it came with a heavy price, and I highly doubt they would enjoy to know what my medium is."

Everyone in the room was looking at her wide-eyed at her tale. She smiled vaguely at them, shaking off the emotions that tailed the memory. She took a biscuit from the display of food and nibbled on it, watching each of them. Quietly, little Theo spoke up.

"What ended up being your medium?" She looked him in the eye, locking his gaze with hers in a grave contact.

"Blood."

A noticeable shiver ran down everyone's back as she said this. Pansy looked especially shaken though she was holding a brave face. Rosalva thought she should give her credit for that. She was strong if a bit annoying and uppity.

"So what does that have to do with your doll making?" Prompted Draco. "You referenced there was a connection in your letters but not exactly how. I am curious and since I notice you brought your supplies I thought you might be willing to explain."

Rosalva smiled and the mood seemed to lighten a bit as Rosalva pulled out her travel kit.

"It has more to do with using blood as a seal more than anything. I took after my aunt in my love of doll making. My family also dabbles vaguely in soul magic." She turned to look at each of them seriously then to Draco.

"Can they be trusted?" She asked him. Curious but not one that felt it was the right situation to lie, he nodded to her, already knowing he would trust his life to those few that populated this room. Rosalva smiled and pulled out a key from her pocket and undid the first lock, throwing open the box to reveal a red haired doll.

Currently the doll serenely had its eyes closed though when Rosalva picked it up they opened to reveal blood red eyes. Rosalva sat the doll on her lap to show it off the rest in the room. It had obvious ball joints, and a peaceful face that seemed to be observing them all. Its brilliant red hair was brushed straight as Rosalva's was, with a white silk rose with black lace leaves, like a barrette over its right ear. Its bangs were cut straight across in a perfect line while the rest of the hair hung straight, the ends of the hair all cut in a straight line. It wore a white gown, Spanish looking with the off the shoulder top part and flowing skirt, its hem and top ruffled. Petticoats could be seen peeking out from underneath the dress. There was a bright red corset around the waist of the doll, showing of an impression of an hour-glass figure. It wore pretty white stockings with ruffles and bows at the top and matching white boots. On its tiny hands were petite little white gloves, edged in lace with a bow. Around its neck was a lace choker that from it hung a single tear drop ruby for a pendent. It was truly an elegant doll that left each of the people in the room speechless. Rosalva smiled.

"This is Joan. She is my first doll though she was not made by me in the physical sense."

"This is the one your aunt made?" Queried Theo. Rosalva nodded while all of them looked impressed.

"She is very beautiful." Commented Pansy sincerely.

"Thank you. She thanks you as well." These made each of them turn to her, startled again. Rosalva smiled sadly.

"She has a soul. My aunt's, in fact. In my panic of what those kidnappers did to me, I grasped for my aunt's soul which had not passed on but instead had followed me, and using my newfound medium, accidently sealed her in the eyes with my magic as a child. With the blood I created small seals in the eyes that can only be seen with a magnifying glass at best. That is why the eyes are red. They used to be green, much like my aunt's. Actually the doll looks a great deal like my aunt."

Each of them looked at the doll with a new perspective of wonderment.

"Are…are you able to make more of these dolls?" asked Draco. Rosalva nodded but added something else.

"I am, but I only do it for the dying and the ones that have no hope of recovery. I also only do it for the ones that wish to leave something to protect their loved ones. I never make them for the ones that wish to use them as a way towards eternal youth or life or the ones that want to use them as a way to gain their revenge from beyond the grave. These are merely guardian dolls, just as Joan is my guardian."

A knock startled them out of their trance of amazement and all of them turned as Narcissa Malfoy glided in to inform them it had somehow gotten past the time they were to leave for the pureblood social gathering they had all been invited to. Pansy followed Pansy and Mrs. Malfoy out of the room, waving good bye to the boys. As Pansy turned to a different room to change Mrs. Malfoy turned to Rosalva, a serious yet desperate edged expression on her face.

"Could you tell me more about these guardian dolls?" Rosalva regarded the woman before her with a neutral expression before smiling broadly, much like a cat that had got both the canary and the cream, and practically purred.

"First are you sure, milady, that you can pay the price for my one-of-a-kind dolls? If you wish for one of my dolls you must first have a soul that wishes to protect your dragon to give me."

Tuula checked her watch once again, looking impatiently around the crowded platform, searching for her girlfriend. If she didn't hurry they would have to find another way to get to Hogwarts and Tuula was not in the mood today for any delays. Finally she spotted Rosalva heading her way, waving cheerily at her while two burly looking, bodyguard like boys flanked her. Tuula felt herself relax a little and extended her mental connection to her partner.

_Where were you?_

Tuula could feel Rosalva smiling through their connection

_Just meeting up with some new friends and talking to a customer about a commission._

Tuula sent her startlement at the statement through their connection, letting Rosalva know her surprise.

_A commission already?_

_Kitty darling, these people will be at war soon and not all of them are idiots that want to hide their heads uselessly in the sand. Some will take action and I happened to come across a woman that wants to do just that._

_Who?_

_The Death Queen._

_I take it you mean Draco Malfoy's mother._

_Who else?_

_Then this will work out well in helping you keep an eye on him._

_That was exactly my thought. _Tuula could feel Rosalva practically purring through their connection and slightly blushed as she started noticing how Rosalva was watching her.

_Get those pervy thoughts out of your head you idiot rabbit._

Tuula could feel Rosalva laughing humorously in her mind but noticed that physically she was keeping her laughter only to a small smirk outside their link.

_I shall see you later my dearest kitten. For now we must play the part of good friends._

_I didn't realize that is a part._

_Too true. It is not Kitten. You are my dearest friend and most beloved all in one. But this time we must only play one of those roles._

Tuula mentally nodded then picked up her school trunk and turned to the others.

"Rosalva is headed over here with some new bodyguards of hers courtesy of her the Death Prince. Apparently also has a commission from his mother. Alex turned to Tuula an eyebrow raised.

"What does that woman want with one of Dollmaster's special dolls?"

"Does it matter?" Alex laughed and shook her headed before the group headed to the find a compartment on the train before they ran out. Tuula happened to notice thought that Alex had filched one of Will's dagger's with her though. She wondered when they would get the howler for that one. After all, Will would probably not notice until they were all safely on the train and out of immediate reach. Tuula smiled. One thing was for sure. Her friends would never make her life boring regardless of whether boring school was involved or not.

Rosalva had barely sat down with Draco in his compartment before a timid second year student with a black and yellow tie opened the door. He looked terrified as he noticed the Tweedle pair but stuttering, continued with what he was asked to come here for.

"M-miss Espinosa is w-wanted in M-Mr. Slughorn's c-compartment. I-I am to e-es-c-c-ort her th-there." Still stacking in the knees the boy, quiet bravely stood there as Rosalva smiled at him then turned to Draco then back to the young second year.

"While I am more than willing to follow you it might be in my best interest to be escorted by Mr. Malfoy, for proprieties sake of course. A lady should never go to an older man's private compartment by herself after all." Draco grinned at this, and stood up, offering his arm to her before motioning to the timid boy to lead the way, something he was all too glad to do and hurried down the hall, while the pair followed him at a slower pace. They only stopped once to pick up another Slytherin, Blaise Zabini, to also follow them to Slughorn's compartment, that Rosalva was starting to suspect was going to have an exclusive party rather than be just a simple talk. Well this sure would be exasperating if not outright painful. She hoped she wouldn't lose her temper.

Her confirmation was given when she stepped into the compartment, the young Hufflepuff boy leaving soon after they arrived, and she saw the others already seated. Cormac McLaggen, a pompous boy she had met on a different trip to Diagon Alley that had left a sour taste in her mouth and a black eye for McLaggen, sat on the closest seat to the door and edged away from her in fear as soon as he caught sight of her. To his left was a boy that seemed to be familiar, and after a bit of mental searching she remembered that this was the nephew of Damocles Belby, the inventor and current provider of Wolfsbane Potion for her organization. That reminded her; she really needed to send him a thank you note for the batch of excellent chocolates his wife had sent her last Christmas. They were such a nice family.

As Rosalva was escorted to a seat opposite of McLaggen, and then guarded on each side by Zabini, who was smirking flirtatiously at her, and Malfoy who had brought his smaller school back with him and was pulling out a set of tea that he had brought just for her after learning her love of tea, Rosalva noticed the older man that was eagerly pulling out various foods from a lunch basket. Rosalva suspected that this was the one known as Slughorn and made a note to figure out his intentions, exasperating as that might be.

"Ah Miss Espinosa a please, complete please to meet you. The heir to the Espinosa Corporation, are you not?" The old man had finally taken notice of her and had extended his hand to shake hers, though she made no move to take, leaving him feeling awkward as she smiled pleasantly.

"I am the eldest child, yes but fully intend to leave the company to my younger sister. My brother and I have other avenues we wish to pursue that are far more along our skill level."

"Oh," he commented interestedly as he folded his hands back into his lap. "What directions are you both planning on taking then?"

Rosalva smiled sickeningly sweet at him as she responded as coldly as she could.

"My brother intends to be a musical theatre composer, and me, well I simply enjoy making dolls."

Slughorn blinked confusedly at her for a few moments before he inquired again.

"Dolls?"

"Yes, sir, I make my own dolls, clothes and all. I tend to get quite a few orders for them worldwide. I am quite exclusive though, whom I make them for. I prefer to provide them for the patients in hospitals, especially the young children."

"Ah so you are quite the kind hearted young lady."

"Not really."

Slughorn, tripped up again, smiled weakly at her before turning to Draco, who was pouring Rosalva a cup of tea now, with a questioning glance.

"Mr. Malfoy was it? Might I ask you what you are doing here?" Calmly Draco looked at him with a look that asked how the old man could be so stupid that sent Rosalva into silent giggles that the only evidence of were a slight shakiness to her shoulders, and her taking the teacup and using it as a cover for her smile.

"Tell me sir, what gentleman would allow a young, unmarried lady such as Rosalva, of a high standing pureblood family, to join an obviously older gentleman in his private compartment without an escort that she trusted? I was invited by Rosalva herself. I see no reason for you to complain." Slughorn was taken aback and merely nodded at the logic of the statement, before turning to Blaise inquiringly.

"How is your mother, Mr., Zabini?"

"Married again." Answered Blaise boredly as he attempted to pull the old trick of yawning with his arms stretched them laying one over her shoulders. Rosalva promptly pinched his hand, causing him to yelp, Rosalva to smile triumphantly, and Draco to send him a warning glance as he poured himself a cup of tea as well.

Rosalva returned to her cup of tea, a white tea with black berries, peaches, and a hint of apple, when the door opened again to show a red haired girl walk in and promptly sit down. In the girl's hand was a letter that she handed to Slughorn who immediately attempted to talk to her to rid himself of the awkward wall Rosalva and her companions had set up around themselves. Rosalva smiled pleasantly. She couldn't wait for the school year to start so she could harass this man some more. Clearing her throat she interrupted the stunted conversation Slughorn was attempting to have to make a comment.

"It is a pity my girlfriend was not invited here, nor my other friends. They really are quite skilled themselves, so I half expected them to be here." Slughorn perked up at that and turned to her with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Oh and tell me, what do they specialize in, Ms. Espinosa?" Rosalva smiled happily at the old man taking the bait.

"Oh, Alexandria is the cousin of Sir Adams, a knight of the Queen herself, and is quite skilled in blacksmithing, silversmithing, and pretty much anything that involves metal and weaponry. She is quite a close friend of mine. I hear even the goblins are thinking of giving her an apprenticeship, saying it's a waste that a witch such as her should go without better training even though she is not one of them."

"Oh? And what of the others?" Slughorn looked even more eager, while Draco looked at her inquiringly, obviously curious about both the mention of Will, and Alex.

"Well, I do believe that Laverna is working quite successfully on a way to combine muggle inventions with magical items. She recently was able to make a television work well within a magical environment."

"That sounds quite revolutionary!"

"It is. My girlfriend, Tuula, is especially skilled in potions making. Lately she has been looking into a way to cure Lycanthropy completely. She has had quite a few misses but she seems to be making progress. I suspect that if she were not so distracted with myself she would be years more ahead but," Rosalva shrugged in a careless and with a mischievous, obviously not sorry way. "She will most likely give the world a progress report on her work in a few months' time. She has incidentally discovered quite a few things in her attempts at a werewolf cure."

"I look forward to reading her work, Miss Espinosa."

It was at that moment that Rosalva finally caught sight of her second target for this mission, for it was then that the famous Harry Potter opened the door, revealing himself and a taller brown haired boy just behind him. They, like the red haired girl, had a letter in their hands. Subtlety, Rosalva placed her hand over Draco's in an attempt to calm him as she noticed he tensed and glared angrily at the newcomers, in particular, Harry Potter. Beside her, she also noticed that Blaise had lost his playful nature and had suddenly taken on a colder demeanor. Obviously there was a very interesting history between these two groups. Harry blinked confusedly at her for a few moments while she shared with him a welcoming smile and then scooted over closer to Draco, patting the now open space between her and Zabini. Both of the Slytherin boys turned to her startled at what she was doing, looking very much at her like she had just sprouted a new head that was speaking in only Ancient Latin. Harry Potter looked at her in surprise, putting on quite an impressive imitation of Rosalva's younger sister's favorite goldfish.

"Please, come sit. I assure you I don't bite, well, not you at least." Rosalva winked at him to steady his nerves and was rewarded with a nervous smile, most of the Savior's suspicions blown away. The timid boy behind Harry sat next to the red-head, looking slightly out of place. Rosalva did notice that Harry Potter was casting Draco quite a few glaring, and suspicious glances but brushed them aside to mentally study them later. Rosalva cleared her throat and turned to Slughorn.

"Perhaps it might be best to send those invitations out to my companions and my girlfriend?" Slughorn eagerly agreed and stepped briefly out into the corridor to snag a younger student to go fetch Rosalva's friends. As soon as the door was securely shut Rosalva burst out laughing.

"Oh that was excellent." She grinned mischievously. "I am so glad that old pompous man took to my bait. I highly doubt he will be able to handle the chaos of my friends." This made all of the occupants in the turn to her inquiringly, with the exception of McLaggen who only shivered ominously, remembering his first meeting with the mentioned girls.

"And, why is that?" The red head daringly asked, obviously curious but with some hidden prejudice, likely caused by Rosalva's choice in escorts. Rosalva just grinned.

"You are the youngest Weasley correct? The only girl I recall. Well, let me put it this way. My friends are much like those infamous twin brothers of yours and yet," Her grin widened. "I can assure you they are ten times better at the craft of pranking than those two." Those people that knew of the twins shivered in their seats and made a note to attempt to never gain the attention of the four girls. Rosalva glanced over at Draco and noticed that he was distractedly holding his teacup too tight as he glared at Harry Potter. She sighed and whacked both boys upside the head.

"Would you two please knock off the rivalry? I had expected as a transfer student that more of the people here would be welcoming, but I guess that just goes towards American towns that know the meaning of southern hospitality." She sniffed snootily, playing up on her supposed pureblood upbringing, which for the most part was nonexistent in the sense of what Draco was thinking. Everyone looked confused at her when she mentioned southern hospitality though none inquired to its meaning. It was at that moment that Slughorn walked back in, extremely happy and followed by three familiar girls. Rosalva leapt up and immediately hugged each of them, lingering a little longer over her girlfriend than the others. Immediately she pulled the girl over to sit next to her, this time placing her between Draco and herself. Hopefully the increased distance between the rivals would cool the tempers of them both. Slughorn meanwhile cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention.

"Now that everyone is here shall we begin?" Rosalva inwardly groaned and, clinging to Tuula's arm, let her friends do the talking while she took a nap. Later, the Longbottom boy kindly carried her, still sleeping, to the carriage her friends were in while Draco and Zabini walked back to the Slytherin carriage. Harry was nowhere in sight for the rest of the train ride.

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><p>Yay. finally finished this chappy :3 anyhow, this is probably my longest one yet too so i am doubley proud of myself O.O and no kill kill sprees with me cousin of Wildespeaks. . you are SO a kitty cat. :3 . i do hope i spelled my beta's pen name correctly this time. ^^' moving on. i'm silly and crazy in my own little way. feel free to read this at your leisure but of course a review or adding to alerts andor favorites is perfectly welcome :3 ^^


	5. Chapter 5

At her new table in the great hall, Rosalva began her work on her ordered doll, carefully threading and securing each thread of raven-black hair into place on the head, she even had a name for it already, or at least part of one. She liked the name Sati, meaning "truthful" from her research, and Nightingale would be a good last name she decided, regardless of the soul's own name that Mrs. Malfoy would provide her in time. She halfheartedly listened to the words the Headmaster was saying at the podium, becoming bored after his announcing of Voldemort's reveal being true, and she tuned out again and settled to simply pause in her work and smack a sulking Draco upside the head for making it obvious that he had no respect for "Dumble Bee's" words.

Moments before Dumbledore released them to go, Rosalva had already packed her stuff up and followed Draco and Pansy to their dorms, waving goodnight to her friends, Alex and Tuula in Ravenclaw and Laverna, who somehow ended up in Gryffindor; a fact which had Draco noticeably sighing in relief. The introduction to where things were was done by mostly Pansy, Draco had already headed up to bed, and were done quickly, precisely, and with a cold warning that if you got caught doing something that had points taken away; there would be no others to come help you. Afterwards Rosalva had gladly followed Millicent Bulstrode, a Slytherin girl Pansy had introduced her to, into the dorms rooms she would be using. The rooms were rather dark, only lit by candle-less flame lanterns, and were done in dark woods, luxurious greens, and the welcome lighter tones of silver that kept the rooms from feeling too small. Rosalva's trunk, which was secretly her true doll making kit that was organized the same way as her travel kit with multiple locks to different sections, was at the foot of her bed. She pulled out the custom wand, a thin straight strip of yew wood that was so soaked in Re'em blood it was a dark reddish brown, much like the color of dried blood and had a liquid thestral blood core. Will had created it as cover piece and had made as attuned to her new magic medium as he could. She tapped the end of the wand to the lid of the trunk to undo a few of the wards she kept woven over it. She undid the first lock to get her nightwear out, a velvet green nightgown with soft silvery-lace on the ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the dress. Also in her trunk was a belt for it, a twisted cordlike one in fibers of silver and green silk with tassels on the end.

Rosalva also pulled out Joan and placed her, and a few other dolls onto her bed. A few extra blanket and pillows, also in green and silver, favorite colors of hers, were thrown onto the bed and arranged until Rosalva felt secure like she had created a nest. The other girls looked at her strangely but had been warned not to interfere with her by Pansy earlier. There was something to be said about having made friends with Draco well enough to utilize his friends to defend her own privacy.

Rosalva crawled into bed, tucking herself in snuggly and shutting the curtains as the other girls stayed up a while longer to gossip before finally calling it a night. Rosalva laid there for hours, patiently waiting until not only were her dorm-mates snugly tucked in beds and well into dream land but also the rest of the house. It was close to one in the morning before she finally moved, braiding a seemingly insignificant blue-glass bead into her hair before grabbing Joan and covering herself in an invisibility cloak. As she stepped out of the room, her foot steps were oddly quiet. She turned briefly around to make sure her dorm mates were asleep, then quickly dashed out and into the shadows of the rest of the school. She had a meeting now.

Harry lie in bed, fidgety and his mind racing with one thought after another, just as soon as he was sure he would be able to fall asleep, another thought would run through his head. He didn't know what to make of it. Today had a lot of things happening, what with those strange girls that had set him on edge with no discernible reason, Malfoy most likely being a death eater, Tonk's changed patronus, and so on. Inwardly growling to himself he sat up annoyed, threw open the curtains to his bed and glanced at one of his roommates clocks. It was nearly midnight. Harry glanced outside. The nearly full moon made the grounds almost look like it was daylight. Harry shook his head and got out of bed to dig through his trunk, pulling out his invisibility cloak and the maurader's map.

As he looked over the map, he noticed something very odd about the map. There were currently four figures wandering out around the castle all under the name of "Nemo", one from Slytherin, two from Ravenclaw, and another just making its way from the Gryffindor common room. Deciding he might as well look into the anomaly Harry threw on his invisibility cloak and wandered out of the boy's dorm to see exactly who "Nemo" was.

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><p>Yeah I know I haven't uploaded in a long while. Been fighting through both artist and writer's block. This isn't much but I hope to you might all be so kind as to provide a nice andor constructive review. I'll get working on the next chapter. I hope you all will forgive me for delaying for so long.


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